Based on an understanding memorandum signed by all Jordanian public universities in 2002, a consortium for managing the network of Jordanian public university libraries was established under the name of “Jordanian Center of Excellence for Public University Library Services”. The Center attempts to manage the public university library network in Jordan and coordinate its services to achieve expenditure rationalization, information resource sharing and unifying mechanism and tools for library work among member libraries. In order to accomplish the Center’s goals, library members reached a consensus on maintaining a union catalog to facilitate access to accumulative information resources available at the member libraries. Thus Horizon, which operates as an integrated library system, was installed and implemented in 2006.  

Horizon is a fully integrated client/server library management system, providing a graphical user interface for the library, and offering a functionality and standards required for an open system including Web access, Z39.50 standard for information exchange, the TCP/IP communication standard, UNIX and Windows NT for portability.  Horizon supports the Arabic version of MARC 21which is compatible with Anglo-American Cataloging Rules and recently with Resource Description and Access (RDA(, This system provides access to the library union catalogue, which integrates all Jordanian public universities' bibliographic records, providing a smart, intelligent and organized web-based interface that allows users to search across different catalogues: local, general, and electronic resources simutaneously. The system application modules (acqusition, cataloguing, circulation, serial control, inventory, binding, archiving, holding, audiovisual materials, borrows' data retrieval, depository, exchange & gifting, and reports)